Need help deciding what to do next.

[whyxitx]

I posted a thread a while back on me pulling my engine. 3 months later i have finally gotten the engine and transmission out and have started thinking about what i want to do with it. So far i don't have a lot of parts put together for her. Mostly just stuff to change my clutch out with. I picked up a vortech V1-SI kit over a year ago that has been collecting dust in my closet and i have been debating on selling it or throwing it on, but i am so indecisive about it. When i did a compression test they came back even-ish. All cylinders were in range of 140-150psi.

This is where i need advice... I have roughly 4500$ to use towards my build without getting my credit card involved. The only upgrades i have done to my car are 4.10s and exhaust. with that 4500$, should i do suspension first and then see what i have left for building the engine? I have never taken a modular engine apart, let alone any other type of engine. So i really don't know what rods/pistons/etc to go with. I don't really have a specific goal for power either. I just want to make sure that i build it so that i don't have to take it out for a long time. My goal is to have it close to being done by August of 2015 so i need to buckle down and decide what all i'm going to do and bite the bullet. If you guys were in my position what would you do? I haven't drive the car since late August and i'm having withdrawals. lol.

Or should i say screw building the engine and just save my money, throw the supercharger on and run low boost @ 6-8 lbs then spend decent money on my suspension and worry about building an engine later.

I know these kinds of questions pop up here all the time, but i want to get everything into one thread so it's easy to come back to for references.

 

[04DeadShort]

Decisions, decisions. What your asking is really matter of preference. One option is to build the motor and then make the necessary mods to the suspension to hold it safely. Its really up to you. They play hand in hand.

 

[Tabres]

Don't mess with your engine, re-install it, put the blower on at 6-8lbs wth a conversative tune, spend your money on suspension and brakes. You'll have a really fun car with that type of setup.

If you decide to build the engine it'll snowball fast and you'll need a lot more $4,500 to finish the project and you'll miss your August deadline.

 

[whyxitx]

Don't mess with your engine, re-install it, put the blower on at 6-8lbs wth a conversative tune, spend your money on suspension and brakes. You'll have a really fun car with that type of setup.

If you decide to build the engine it'll snowball fast and you'll need a lot more $4,500 to finish the project and you'll miss your August deadline.

As i was thinking about what i truly want to do, i hopped in the shower and decided i want to have it done quicker and that means i'll dump it into suspension and brakes. All good ideas come in the shower or in your dreams...right?!

Now i just need to decided on my suspension. If i don't touch my engine besides re-gasket-ing the necessities, i think i can swing the MM setup I've been eyeballing.

 

[Shake&Bake]

Don't mess with your engine, re-install it, put the blower on at 6-8lbs wth a conversative tune, spend your money on suspension and brakes. You'll have a really fun car with that type of setup.

If you decide to build the engine it'll snowball fast and you'll need a lot more $4,500 to finish the project and you'll miss your August deadline.

This. Digging into an engine tends to lead to "while I'm there syndrome" and that costs money. It always seemed like I needed to spend 100 dollars more on something. Since the engine is out, give it a cleaning, bolt the blower up, get a tune and have fun.

 

[Shake&Bake]

Don't mess with your engine, re-install it, put the blower on at 6-8lbs wth a conversative tune, spend your money on suspension and brakes. You'll have a really fun car with that type of setup.

If you decide to build the engine it'll snowball fast and you'll need a lot more $4,500 to finish the project and you'll miss your August deadline.

This. Digging into an engine tends to lead to "while I'm there syndrome" and that costs money. It always seemed like I needed to spend 100 dollars more on something. Since the engine is out, give it a cleaning, bolt the blower on, get a tune and have fun.